After entering the waxing moon, the weather is even colder, peach blossom set is located in the south, but the geographical position is still north, not only by the cold invasion of the north, there is also Jiangnan’s wet, resulting in this place and wet and cold, wet and cold piercing the bones.
Especially last night scrape a north wind, midnight also under a small burst of rain and snow, this morning more wet and cold.
Zhu Pingan in the morning when reviewing the Zhejiang army morning drill, found that there are more than 30 generals because there is no armour and was pulled out by the monitoring team to beat the baton.
The drill code of the ZheJiang army stipulates that the morning drill should not only be fully armed, but also weigh twenty pounds.
The reason for the extra twenty pounds of weight is because the Zhejian army is currently not enough armour, most people can only mix a half armour.
According to the military system, the regular border army of the Ming Dynasty is fully armed with eighty-eight and a half catties, and the specific armament is as follows: the body locks the armour, the battle skirt, the cover arm, etc. weighing forty-five catties in total, the support armour, the cerebral gadgets weighing seven catties, the protective support and the bottom guard weighing five catties, the bow and arrows weighing ten catties, the waist sword three and a half catties, the tribulus terrestris bone weighs three catties, the quiver weighing one catties, and the battle hook with the sheepskin up and down clothes weighing a total of eight catties. All armed together, exactly eighty-eight pounds and a half.
Zhejun now armor is not complete, lock armor only two hundred and eighty pairs, more than a broken armor and simple cloth surface armor, cover arm, item protective support for guarding thistles bones and so on these through are not there. The full armour of Zhejun added up to forty pounds, so twenty pounds of weight was added additionally.
The reason why these generals do not wear armour is because they think the armour is too heavy and want to be lazy?
Not.
Zhu Pingan found noticed that although these generals were not clad in armour, they consciously carried an extra thirty pounds on their load, while the other clad generals carried twenty pounds, they carried a full fifty pounds.
“Why would you guys prefer to carry more weight rather than wearing armour?”
Zhu Pingan inquired curiously, judging from the fact that they had consciously increased their load, they were not lazy because they disliked the heavy armour.
“My lord, it’s not that we don’t drape our armour, but it’s too cold, the iron armour is like a lump of ice, we can’t carry it on our bodies.”
The general without armour rubbed his buttocks and returned with an aggrieved face.
“Armour is life preserving, on the battlefield if you don’t wear armour because it’s too cold, a single loss can kill you, and it’s too late for you to regret it. A few days ago, Royal Secretary Hu led his troops to block the Japanese invaders in Cherry Orchard, and it was because the blocking generals were too cold to wear armour and took off their armour to bake the fire that the Japanese invaders attacked them, and they were defeated and killed or injured by more than half! The previous lesson is still there, the blood in front of the Cherry Orchard has not dried up yet, you forget the lesson? The cold, too, must be overcome, it’s better than losing your lives!”Zhu Pingan gave them a serious education.
“Yes, your honour is right to teach a lesson.”The generals knew their mistake and donned their armour on the spot, one by one, grimacing from the ice of the armour.
So cold?
Zhu Pingan held a pleading attitude and caused a pair of iron helmets and iron armour to be fetched and draped himself.
Wo grass!
It’s really cold! The moment the iron armour came into contact with the body, Zhu Ping An’s sweaty hairs all over his body flared up!
Cold!
Very cold!
At this moment, Zhu Pingan had a deeper understanding of Cen Shen’s poem “The General’s Horned Bow is uncontrollable, and the Protector’s Iron Clothes are cold and difficult to wear”. The moment the armour was put on his body, it was as cold as entering an ice cellar.
No wonder they would rather carry more weight than wearing armour, it is really a challenge to wear armour in this hellish weather!
In this regard, Zhu Pingan could not help but ponder.
A set of armour weighs forty to fifty pounds, in this kind of ghost weather armour freezing with ghosts, and although the current stage is in the era of cold weapons, but the use of cannons, bird cannons in the battlefield is also more and more, a lot of elite Japanese are equipped with iron cannons (in fact, it is the Japanese bird cannons), iron armour in the face of musket protection is seriously insufficient. It is the heavy armour, by the cannons close to save shot, also fragile and unbearable, armour than not armour difference is not much. If you think about it, armour is not worth it.
But if you don’t wear armour, you can’t. At this stage, cold weapons are still the mainstay, and the protection of armour against cold weapons is still very strong.
Is there a way to have the best of both worlds?
Zhu Pingan immediately pondered, is there a good way in history ……
Oh, I remember, cotton armour! It was the cotton armour! As soon as Zhu Pingan ran through history, the first thing that came to mind was cotton armour.
Cotton armour began to appear in the Yuan Dynasty, and at that time, there was only a small amount of cotton armour, and the quality of cotton armour was not high. However, cotton armour had relatively good cushioning protection against firearms, and so it began to move towards the stage of history.
In fact, now during the Jiajing period, the Ming Dynasty, many armies are also equipped with cotton armour, but the number is not much. In the Longqing years began to gradually increase up, in Chongzhen years, that is, the end of the Ming and early Qing dynasties, cotton armour only began to popularise a large number of people, and in the Manchu era, the Manchu early captured the Ming army’s cotton armour, and then became a cotton armour of the faithful pump, after many years of development and improvement of the evolution of the Manchu will be cotton armour to determine for the systematic equipment, the shape is also gradually fixed, divided into the body armour, the front, armour sleeves, shoulders, the left file and so on multiple parts. During the Qing dynasty, the Qing army conquered Junggar, crusade big and small Jinchuan, cotton armour have made great achievements.
Don’t listen to the cotton armour feel simple class, in fact, on the protection, cotton armour protection than iron armour is also excellent, not only is the face of firearms protection is excellent, in the face of cold weapons protection and iron armour compared to the same. The quality of mature cotton armour can reach the rain does not absorb water, sharp edges do not cut through, musket shot does not wear!
Moreover, the cotton armour has the advantages of iron armour can not catch up, first, cotton armour it warm ah, wearing also comfortable, on the limbs of the sergeant’s activities are also small; second, cotton armour it is cheap ah, a set of composite cotton armour about seven or eight pounds of cotton, lined with iron, outside the use of copper nails can be fixed, the cost of iron armour than a number of times lower than the weight of iron armour than a number of times lighter, and the Ming Dynasty is now planted all over the cotton, materialThirdly, cotton armour is easy to maintain and durable, while iron armour is not, as it is wet and rainy, iron armour is easy to embroider and is not durable, as exemplified by the tattered and torn armour in the carloads pulled from the camps of Linhuaihou’s naval forces.
In addition, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the whole of China would fall into the Little Ice Age, the weather was colder than usual, and even Guangdong was snowed in, the Ming Dynasty fought more with arms in the north, where it was colder, and cotton armour was more adaptable.
Cotton armour became popular one day earlier, which was also a great benefit for the Ming border troops, and for the Ming dynasty.
Cotton armour cost is low, the cost of a set of iron armour can make four or five sets of cotton armour, so the cost is low, the armour rate is high; armour rate is high, the survival rate of the Ming army is high, the battlefield combat effectiveness will also be enhanced a lot.
To say that the cotton armour, there is no doubt that the late Manchu era of cotton armour quality is high, the production process is also more practical and more mature.
So, come out with the Manchu Qing cotton armour! Zhu Pingan’s eyes lit up with determination. The maturity and popularity of cotton armour, let’s start with my Zhejiang army!
